Old-school markets could return in 2013 2 Jan 2013 After five years of macroeconomic mayhem, the next 12 months may be more ordinary. Signs already suggest the focus will shift from central bank interventions and systemic worries like a euro or financial collapse to companies, deals and fundamentals. That would be refreshing.
Lehman could be 2013’s Humpty Dumpty 2 Jan 2013 Nomura has struggled with the defunct firm’s European and Asian operations. Barclays may offload the U.S. arm. So why not stitch Lehman back together? Plenty of sidelined Wall Street execs could run it. But funding looks difficult. It’s Wall Street’s problem in a nutshell.
Avis gives Zipcar a faster lane to profitability 2 Jan 2013 Selling to the mainstream car rental giant for $500 mln means a 32 pct loss for those who bought Zipcar’s shares in its 2011 IPO. But tapping into Avis’s underused fleet should boost the car-sharing company’s margins. And for Avis owners, cost savings justify the 49 pct premium.
Ethical economy: The world at work 2 Jan 2013 “The Family of Man”, a 1955 photography exhibit, spawned a best-selling book. The pictures of work are dated and misleading, but still bring out the timeless universality of the human condition. It’s a sobering theme for economists, who place too many hopes on technical progress.
Global relief on fiscal cliff misses the point 2 Jan 2013 The unnecessary fight over the U.S. budget ended with another messy and inadequate compromise. Other equally silly clashes loom. Investors may cheer, but their nail-biting was symptomatic of the world’s excessive dependence on dysfunctional American politics. That hasn’t changed.
Germans have peculiar love-hate affair with Merkel 2 Jan 2013 The chancellor is the nation’s most popular politician, although voters don’t like her policies. How does she manage? She benefits from an opaque communications strategy, and the lack of a coherent alternative. Pro-EU leaders should pray that this Merkel bubble doesn’t burst.
India braces for last year of political stability 2 Jan 2013 A 13-year period in which one of the two main national parties led a stable coalition in New Delhi will come to an end in 2013. A third-front alliance of opportunistic regional parties will rise to power. Their populism will wreck public finances and delay an investment revival.
Banks will stop giving stuff away this year 2 Jan 2013 Lenders have underpriced everything from corporate loans to current accounts in an effort to suck in business. But tougher regulators and shrinking revenue streams make such cross-subsidies harder to justify. An overhaul of the industry’s approach to pricing is overdue.